The director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum on Monday apologised for the inexperience of frontline staff, saying they may have disappointed visitors of a new ancient Egypt exhibition.

The museum had to pause ticket sales at the gate twice over the weekend because it was too crowded, and at one point on Saturday afternoon, visitors had to wait for an hour and a half.

As a result, museum director Louis Ng said visitors holding a ticket for last Saturday can enjoy free entry to the exhibition for the next three months.

He also said people need not rush to visit as the exhibition will be around for more than nine months, adding his team is reviewing admission arrangements.

"We're now looking into creating travel guides to explain what session might be best for people to make their trip. Say, on weekdays," Ng said on an RTHK programme.

"We are also looking into extending the exhibition later into the night. For those who want to stay longer, they can come at night."

The museum had already extended its opening time by one hour until 9pm.

Ng added that on Sunday, things had already improved as the museum only admitted visitors who made bookings, and that they were able to reopen on-site ticket sales in the afternoon.

He noted that most of Sunday's visitors were happy with the arrangement.